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Watch the Nodusfall trailer without knowing who made it and you would guess FromSoftware. Grey skies, crumbling architecture, an enormous creature filling the frame, a lone figure with a weapon that looks heavy.
It is HoYoverse — the studio behind Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero. And it is free, with no character gacha.
Here is everything confirmed so far.
What is Nodusfall?
A dark fantasy cooperative action RPG built in Unreal Engine 5, revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026.
You play a Weaver in a world where divine authority has collapsed. You form squads with companions and hunt corrupted mythological creatures, trying to restore order to a world that has lost its gods.
Everything about the presentation is a deliberate break from what HoYoverse is known for. The vibrant anime aesthetic is gone. In its place: hyper-realistic dark fantasy, heavier combat, and monsters designed to be intimidating rather than collectible.
The headline: no character gacha
This was the first question everyone asked, and HoYoverse answered it directly in a statement to PC Gamer:
Nodusfall will be a free-to-play, long-term game. What we can share at this time is that characters are not obtained through random draws. We hope to allow players to unlock this core gameplay experience through continued play. Cosmetic monetization is an important avenue we will be considering.
In plain terms:
- Free to play
- No random draws for characters — no banners, no pity, no 50/50
- Characters unlocked by playing
- Money comes from cosmetics: outfits, hairstyles, accessories
For a studio that built some of the most profitable gacha games in existence, that is a genuinely significant statement. We covered why they may have made that call here — it involves a $20 million FTC settlement and a 48% drop in mobile revenue.
Combat and how it actually plays
The Elden Ring and Monster Hunter comparisons are unavoidable, and HoYoverse has clearly invited them. But hands-on impressions suggest it is not simply copying either.
PC Gamer, who played it at Gamescom, described the fights as more forgiving, snappier and more fast-paced than either reference point — not like Genshin or Zenless Zone Zero, but not exactly like Elden Ring or Monster Hunter either.
Styles and Skills
Combat is built around choosing different Styles and Skill combinations for your character. Defeating powerful creatures rewards resources used to unlock new Skills and weapons, so progression flows directly from the hunts.
Companions
You fight alongside companions, and HoYoverse has said the combination of your own available skills plus the companions present is what creates what they describe as endless tactical possibilities. Squad composition appears to matter as much as personal build.
The monsters, and where they come from
This is one of the more distinctive parts. Nodusfall is framed as a multi-mythology game, and the bestiary reflects it: beasts rooted in Eastern mythology sit alongside Western dragons.
The world design draws on the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Chinese classical text of mythological and geographical lore that has supplied strange creatures to storytellers for over two thousand years.
That is a meaningfully different well to draw from than the standard Western fantasy bestiary, and it is the thing most likely to make the creature design feel unfamiliar rather than borrowed.
Characters and customisation
Four characters were playable in the Gamescom demo, each customisable with different outfits, hairstyles and accessories.
That customisation layer is also the intended business model, so expect it to be substantial. Cosmetics have to carry the game commercially, which generally means a lot of them.
Release date and platforms
- Release date: not announced
- Platforms: not fully confirmed, though PC support has been indicated
- Steam page: not live at the time of writing
Given the game was only revealed in late August 2026 with no date attached, a 2027 release at the earliest seems the reasonable expectation.
The honest questions still open
What does “continued play” actually mean?
This is the one to watch. Unlocking characters through play sounds excellent. It becomes considerably less excellent if the grind is tuned severely enough that paid shortcuts appear later. Removing gacha and replacing it with a time-sink that sells time-savers is the same model in different clothing.
Can cosmetics alone sustain it?
Plenty of games manage it. But HoYoverse is a very large company with very large expectations, and cosmetics-only revenue on a long-term free-to-play action RPG is a genuine bet rather than a sure thing.
Will the difficulty hold up?
Fights described as “more forgiving” than Elden Ring will please some players and disappoint others. The audience drawn in by a Soulslike aesthetic may want the difficulty that usually accompanies it.
Why so many people care about this one
Nodusfall arrived at a Gamescom that PC Gamer noted was full of anime cast gacha games. The studio most associated with that formula turning up with hyper-realistic dark fantasy and no gacha was the surprise of the show.
It also lands with an audience that has become extremely sensitive to monetisation. The same players currently review-bombing games over visible AI art are the ones HoYoverse is courting here. Both reactions come from the same place: players rewarding things that feel made for them, and punishing things that feel extracted from them.
If Nodusfall works, it becomes the case study everyone cites against loot-box monetisation. That is why the announcement travelled far beyond HoYoverse usual audience.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nodusfall?
A dark fantasy cooperative action RPG from HoYoverse, built in Unreal Engine 5 and revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026. You play a Weaver hunting corrupted mythological creatures in a world where divine authority has collapsed.
Is Nodusfall a gacha game?
No. HoYoverse has confirmed characters are not obtained through random draws. Characters unlock through continued play, with monetisation planned around optional cosmetics.
Is Nodusfall free?
Yes. HoYoverse has described it as a free-to-play, long-term game.
When is the Nodusfall release date?
No release date has been announced. The game was revealed in late August 2026 with no date attached, and no Steam page is live yet.
What platforms is Nodusfall on?
Platforms have not been fully confirmed, although PC support has been indicated.
Is Nodusfall like Elden Ring?
Visually it draws heavily on that style, and its boss hunts recall Monster Hunter. However, hands-on impressions describe the combat as more forgiving, snappier and faster-paced than either.
How do you unlock characters in Nodusfall?
Through continued play rather than random draws. HoYoverse has not yet detailed the specific progression requirements.
For more on how monetisation and player trust are colliding right now, see our analysis of why HoYoverse dropped gacha.
